Access to Justice: Women’s Experiences in Penang Syariah Courts

In Access to Justice Shariza Kamarudin offers a rare insight into the lives and experiences of women as they navigate their way through the Penang Syariah court system. Grounded in theories of justice, Islamic jurisprudence and feminist legal theory, Access to Justice collects valuable first-hand accounts of the female litigants as they face an overwhelmingly patriarchal system. Touching on issues of polygamy, talaq divorce, domestic violence, domestic abuse and child custody, Shariza Kamarudin studies the responses of women, highlighting the ways in which issues of gender, class, and race play an important role in the administration of Syariah law. Finally, making use of the United Nations Development Programme Access to Justice Framework, Access to Justice calls for a reform in the administration of Syariah law in Malaysia which puts at its heart access to legal knowledge, legal representation and gender awareness.

Shariza Kamarudin is the Programme Manager for the Gender Responsive and Participatory Budgeting in Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC), a state-linked company in Penang, Malaysia. She graduated from the Centre of Research for Women and Gender, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Penang with a Master’s degree in Social Sciences (Gender Studies) where this monograph was originally developed.